Issue Date: February 25, 2007
An offbeat look at a new release
"Flushed Away"
The CEO of plumbing giant Roto-Rooter on the animated comedy set in London's sewer system
THE PLOT The digitally animated comedy is about a classy pet mouse named Roddy (voiced by Hugh Jackman), who is flushed down the toilet by an uncouth rodent intruder (Shane Richie). Roddy discovers a bustling world in the London sewers where a staple gun becomes an automatic weapon and hand mixers become speedboats. Disoriented and homesick, Roddy teams up with tailed gal pal Rita (Kate Winslet) to fight off the French frog mafia.
OUR INSIDER Spencer Lee is chairman and CEO of Roto-Rooter, the international plumbing and drain company that has rescued everything from MP3 players to GI Joe dolls from customers' pipes. Lee joined the company right out of business school, almost 27 years ago, and he worked his way upfrom assistant branch manager to be named top dog in 1999.
OVERVIEW "I thought the movie was cute. I was surprised that there were so many adult references that children wouldn't understand, such as when Rita's grandmother sees Roddy and says, 'It's Tom Jones,' or the takeoffs from other movie scenes, or the discolored mouse who said he used to work in a laboratory on a 'shampoo job.' And the singing slugs absolutely stole the show."
THINGS THAT GO FLUSH "I'm thinking children who watch this might throw a small pet or toys down the toilet, thinking there is this underground world down there. In "Finding Nemo," Nemo is flushed down the toilet to freedom. After that movie came out, we got several calls from parents saying their kids flushed their fish, and we couldn't help them. We wouldn't have been able to help Roddy either, unless we could have stopped him from being pushed into the toilet."
PIPES: FACT VS. FANTASY "The giant maze of pipes at the beginning, after Roddy is flushed -- this is what it looks like in people's imagination, but it's not this much of a jungle. In reality, there's a sewage drain pipe and a clean water pipe. Only a couple different lines, but a lot of twists and turns that make it look complicated."
RODENT ROMANCE "The movie really picked up when Rita came on the scene. She's a strong woman, and Roddy is kind of a passive character. My favorite scene is when they fall in love. They looked at each other and sparks flew. And I also liked ending with them working together on the boat. The movie is essentially a love story."
-- Melanie D.G. Kaplan
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